Herremans got handled in his first game of 2009.
Jason Peters is a Pro Bowl left tackle, Todd Herremans is a guy who has played on the fringe of a Pro Bowl nod at certain point, Jamaal Jackson came from an undrafted free agent to a full-fledged starter, Stacy Andrews was a high-priced free agent, and Winston Justice was a second round pick.
Sounds like a pretty decent unit to have together, right? Well if you just watched the games this season, you'd be shocked to find out how highly touted these linemen are. Honestly, they've looked like a bunch of scrubs who can't seem to get out of their own way.
Trent Dilfer said it best, and may have pointed out the obvious, when he said on ESPN that he believes if a team can shut down Jeremy Maclin and, more importantly, DeSean Jackson, that the Eagles would struggle mightily.
Dilfer has already been proven correct in his assesment of this offense based on the Oakland game. The Raiders shut down the speedy receivers, and the line completely crumbled on the rare occassion that Andy Reid attempted to run the football.
A lot of the blame could be put on Reid for his lack of running. Many, including myself, would say that it is difficult for an offensive line to get any real momentum going when they don't run-block very often. It's all about the mentality of running the football, and Reid doesn't let them acquire that mentality.
However, their job is to block when called upon. It's really as simple as that. When Reid actually does call a running play, they should be salivating for the chance to move forward and pop someone in the mouth. Unfortunately, that doesn't happen, and instead they throw a half-hearted block or completely whiff on their assignment altogether.
Personally, I would have liked Reid to rip all five of them out of the game last night. If you tear them out of the game and make them watch a series from the sideline while their backups give it a go, maybe they'll decide that they actually want to hit someone in the mouth.
Again, it may be Reid's playcalling that is to blame, but when it comes down to it these guys just have to do their jobs.
And one more thing, Andy, get rid of the right guard rotation. It doesn't work in the NFL. You paid Stacy Andrews a boatload of money, so let him earn it or keep him out completely.
